A Documentary On Manual Scavenging That Will Make You Cringe, But It’s A Dirty Truth You Cannot Walk Away From

An image of a filthy sewer overflowing with faeces, discarded sanitary napkins and dead rats, is exposed.

You cringe a little.

The focus is now shifted to the haunting images of a man wearing flip flops collecting the faeces with his bare hands, a middle-aged woman unclogging the drains by lifting the sanitary napkins using two sticks as tongs and humans plunging deeper and deeper into the sewer to collect the filth.

You cringe a little more.

But as you continue watching, the searing images will no longer disgust you. Living in a world where humans are belittled to roaches, will.

These scenes are from ‘Kakkoos’ (Toilet), a Tamil documentary on ‘manual scavenging’.

25-year-old Divya Bharathi’s film captures the uncomfortable truth most of us living in our urban bubbles are unaware of.

While we are sickened by the sight of a hair on our food, imagine collecting heaps of faeces with your bare hands.

Speaking to The Logical Indian, Ms Bharathi took us through the reasons behind the existence of this inhumane practice that still plagues our country in the year 2017.

“Since 1993, manual scavenging is banned in India under the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act. But it continues to exist due to casteism and lack of practical measures undertaken by the government. Despite reeling statistics that show machines have replaced humans, that’s hardly the truth”, revealed MS Bharathi.

Kakkoos was shot is 25 districts across Tamil Nadu and was released last month. It shows the miserable lives and working conditions of the manual scavengers of Tamil Nadu.

Casteism is the primary reason for the continuance of manual scavenging. Not only is the Arundathiyar dalit community affected by it, but depending on the district and the city, the Kaatu Naicker community and various sub-sects of Dalits, Chakiliyar, Irular, Kuravar and many other communities are also forced to engage in the practice.

The workers are hired by private contractors who send them on cleaning jobs, including jobs in private residences.

Men are usually truck drivers and are given the job of cleaning out septic tanks and drains, while the women are sweepers who collect garbage and push carts. As with every ‘job’, workers of manual scavenging too witness a gender inequality. The women are economically and sexually abused, and are forced to work the night shift. Contrastingly, the men are given the day shift as they might ‘wander at night’, thus making women more ‘responsible’.

Divya hails from Arupukkottai in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu. Her father was employed in a cotton mill in the area, and she grew up in the workers’ colony.

Growing up, she remembers the power that the owner held over his employees and the way his word was held as law. Such capitalistic exploitation compelled her to join the CPI (ML) when she was a young standard-nine student.

Being exposed to the world of alternative cinema as a child, made her fall in love with filmmaking. A former student of Visual Communications at the American College (Madurai) in 2008, she pursued her dream. However, she was expelled from college for her involvement in a student protest and later joined the Madurai Law College. Due to her continued participation in student politics, she had to take a transfer again and join a law college in Chennai.

During her time as a social activist, Ms Bharathi saw the death of a labourer due to torturous working conditions. Five-to-ten- labourers die every day due to manual scavenging. The reality of this practice persuaded her to make the documentary. The agonising truth of manual scavenging in India

The agonising truth of manual scavenging in India

“As a sweeper, my work is only to remove the garbage. But the streets are littered with human waste, and I cannot refuse to clean them”, a woman worker in the film says.

“I throw up constantly. What I see haunts me throughout the day,” says a worker. “My daughter refuses to take anything from my hand,” grieves another woman.

It’s a plight they cannot escape from, as the work, though filthy, is also their only source of income.

The government does not even provide brooms, dust pans, masks or gloves to the workers. They are forced to buy all equipment themselves.

It is safer to work in open areas”, says a labourer. “Cleaning toilets covered by walls is far more hazardous and inhumane,” she added.

On the one hand, the government advertises campaigns such as Swachh Bharat, while on the other, exploitation of citizens is normalised.

Ms Bharathi doesn’t hesitate to point a finger at the government and neither does her film.

There is no reasonable explanation for the dehumanisation of manual scavengers in the 21st century.

The Logical Indian strongly condemns this practice and urges the government to implement laws to protect manual scavengers. We wish to express our heartiest gratitude to Ms Bharathi for bringing this dismal reality to our notice. It becomes the responsibility of each of us, as residents of the planet, to spread awareness about the truth about manual scavenging and persuade the government to prevent its continuity.

Manual Scavenging Is Banned In India; Know About It

Partner Story

This Mother’s Day, Let Us Make A Real Difference In Our Mother’s Life

“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” – Abraham Lincoln

Mothers play a crucial role in our lives. Since we were little, they held our hands, acting as our guide into the world. They took care of all our needs – from teaching us how to hold a spoon, cooking delicious meals for us, dropping us to school and sitting with us while we struggled with our math homework – mothers have been there through thick and thin.

On the special occasion of Mother’s Day, Friends Adult Diapers has a beautiful message for each of us – treat your mother the way she has treated you all her life.

It was our mothers who stayed up all night taking care of us when we fell sick; it was her who help us with our homework. This Mother’s Day, remember to take care and support your mother the way she took care of you all these years.

The minds and bodies of our ageing parents dwindle as they grow even older, and somewhere in the incoherence of understanding their thoughts, children lose patience. They spend less and less time with their parents and hire others to look after them. A study by HelpAge India gives accounts of the elderly, most of whom testify to verbal abuse, neglect and disrespect by their children. Old people rely on their children for both emotional and financial support but, often times are not given the needed care.

There is little difference in how we were as toddlers and how parents are as senior citizens. They couldn’t understand the gibber we uttered then, yet taught us different languages. We were financially dependent on them till at least 18 years of age yet, they never said no to giving us pocket money. Why cannot we echo the same patience our parents showed for so many years?

Our parents have an unconditional love for us. They made sure all our needs are cared for and we never feel alone. When we grow up and our parents enter old age, they require the same care and affection. They would be delighted if we spent time with them after classes or work, make tea or cook for them and also help them with household chores when they have too many things at hand.

It is our responsibility to stand with our parents when they are weak; it is our responsibility to cook for them when they are too tired, and it is our responsibility to take care of them when they fall sick.

Mother’s Day is a celebration in honour of motherhood, a tribute to maternal bonds and the influence of mothers in society. Let us make a real difference by showing how much we truly care for our mothers.

Friends Adult Diapers has taken a wonderful initiative in this regard. The most precious gift for a mother is her child. So why not take this as an opportunity to shower her with the same love? After all, she deserves it for being with you through every obstacle and every hardship that you faced.